Sask. dad wins Sacrifice Medal for son
Honour comes after long-fought battle by family
Last Updated: Sunday, November 8, 2009 | 1:52 PM CT
The Canadian Press
The parents of Master Cpl. Jeffrey Walsh, killed in an accidental shooting in Afghanistan in 2006, will receive the Sacrifice Medal on his behalf at an Ottawa ceremony on Monday. (Department of National Defence/Canadian Press)Ben Walsh of Regina, Sask., knows that not all battles are fought in the theatre of war and victory can sometimes be bittersweet.
The former RCMP officer, whose 33-year-old son Master Cpl. Jeffrey Walsh died in an accidental shooting in Afghanistan in August 2006, was among a group of people who spent more than a year lobbying the federal government to change the criteria for awarding the new Sacrifice Medal.
The medal, as it was announced last year, would have only recognized soldiers killed or wounded by hostile fire, but Walsh didn’t think that was fair.
"The criteria that was made up, it left out many soldiers if they weren’t in a combat situation," Walsh said.
"On my journey I had written many letters to Ottawa … to try to change the criteria so that all soldiers, not only my son, would receive a medal for his service in Afghanistan."
On Monday, two days before Remembrance Day, that effort will pay off.
Walsh and his wife, Margaret, are to accept the Sacrifice Medal on behalf of their son at a ceremony in Ottawa.
It was a long road to get there.
When the initial criteria for the medal were announced and Jeffrey Walsh wasn’t included, Ben Walsh peppered lawmakers with letters of protest.
He then went public, urging Canadians to back the change.
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall wrote a letter to Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean, saying the manner of death is irrelevant when someone is killed in a combat theatre.
So did veterans groups and the families of soldiers killed in accidents. They argued that all Canadians soldiers who put themselves in harm’s way deserve the recognition regardless of whether or not they were killed by enemy fire.
Last month Walsh got a letter from the Defence Department, announcing that the criteria had been revised the so that every Canadian soldier who has died in Afghanistan will be recognized.
"The length of time, I almost forgot about it until I got this here envelope," Walsh said.
"I was extremely happy and excited. I think I did a little jig in the kitchen when I found about it.
"But it was, I guess you could say, bittersweet," Walsh added as he choked back tears.
Jeffrey Walsh’s mother, Margaret, was also overcome with emotion when she talked about her son.
"I’m just very proud of our son and very proud of the work that everybody did so that Jeffery could get this medal. It means so much to us," she said.
"I miss him."
Medal will go to fallen soldier's widow, children
The silver circular medal has a claw at the top of it in the form of the Royal Crown, and is attached to a straight slotted bar under a red, black and white ribbon.
There’s a profile of the Queen on one side wearing a crown of maple leaves and snowflakes, and an image from the Vimy Memorial on the other side with the word "Sacrifice."
In the end, the medal will be turned over to Jeffrey’s widow, Julie, and their three children. The youngest, also named Ben, was seven months old when his father died.
The children will be told about their dad’s medal, Ben Walsh said.
"It will be explained to them, what the medal was about and why it was issued and my journey, my long journey to Ottawa, in obtaining this for their father," he said.
Last Friday, two girls at St. Mary’s school in Walsh’s hometown of Regina gave a presentation to Ben and Margaret Walsh on a project they did about their son. There were photos of Jeffery proudly wearing his uniform, other pictures with his family and references to poems that Walsh wrote to his children.
Sheridan Morin said she was inspired to work on the project because she knows the Walsh family.
"I remember going to the circus with him before, and he felt like another dad to me when my dad would be gone," said Morin.
"He would be so nice and his parents are so nice.
"I learned that he loved his family very much and he would always miss them when he was in the war."
Morin’s partner on the project, Joryn Klassen, said the work changed her outlook on what’s happening in Afghanistan.
"Before, I really didn’t think much of it because I don’t really know anybody who’s been in the war. But now I understand what people are going through," Klassen said.
The project is to be officially put on display at the school on Monday while Ben and Margaret Walsh are accepting their son’s medal in Ottawa.
